Qualities of Successful SharePoint Development

Since the launch of the product in 2001, SharePoint has been stereotypically connected with web content administration and document management systems. However, it’s actually a much powerful platform capable of being designed to suit a wide range of solution areas. Every large scale project like a SharePoint development isn’t something to tackle lightly. Sure, there are many approaches to take, but remember these three things to ensure a successful SharePoint development.

Preparation is Key

The key to a successful SharePoint development is a meticulous preparation work which includes business oriented, both organizational as well as functional, requirement analysis to establish entire SharePoint infrastructure. It is also highly recommended for developers to establish at least three SharePoint farm environments: development, test, and production. Solutions, principally custom-coded applications, need to move from the development environment in which they were created to testing, where they are being authenticated, and then to production where they will ultimately reside.

Clear Governance

At the beginning of the SharePoint development project, it is crucial to establish all policies about configuration, development, and maintenance of SharePoint solutions. Many organizations, especially those that are newbies to SharePoint, at least initially often elect to institute a no-code policy, meaning that no custom code solutions are allowed in any environment. Those policies may even go as far as limiting not only on what third-party tools can be installed, but what out of the box SharePoint functionalities are available for configuration. Developers must consider all of those limitations when determining how to create and deliver the solutions to end users.

Developer’s Knowledge

Generally speaking, none of the SharePoint developer skills are in-born. We all need to continuously educating ourselves on new things about this platform. Whether it’s training on general web development practices, .NET, debugging, design, or specific hands-on SharePoint training, developers should be intimately familiar with all of the ins and outs of SharePoint’s out-of-the-box capabilities, as well as other major components of the entire SharePoint platform. Every developer should possess the knowledge to decide if out-of-the-box features are insufficient and how to make progress before jumping to custom coding as a solution. Also, bear in mind that there are no two identical environments out there that a developer can identically configure using out-of-the-box components and capabilities, and there are always going to be some sort of restraints justified by the client’s business needs and processes.

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The success of a SharePoint development relies heavily on the effective use of best practice methodologies, as well as the developer’s ability to understand when to simply use out-of-the-box features, or take advantage of third-party add-ons and services, or a custom code to lower the effort required and simultaneously deliver the quality when developing full customized solutions.